Matures Women
To determine whether type 2 diabetes is associated with fracture in older women, we analyzed data from 9654 women, age 65 yr or older, in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Diabetes with age at onset 40 yr or older was reported by 657 women, of whom 106 used insulin. A total of 2624 women experienced at least one nonvertebral fracture during an average follow-up of 9.4 yr, and 388 had at least one vertebral fracture during an average interval of 3.7 yr. Although diabetes was associated with higher bone mineral density, it was also associated with a higher risk of specific fractures. Compared with nondiabetics, women with diabetes who were not using insulin had an increased risk of hip [relative risk (RR), 1.82; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.24-2.69] and proximal humerus (RR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.24-3.02) fractures in multivariate models controlling for age, body mass index, bone density, and other factors associated with fractures and diabetes. Insulin-treated diabetics had more than double the risk of foot (multivariate adjusted RR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.18-6.02) fractures compared with nondiabetics. This study indicates that diabetes is a risk factor for hip, proximal humerus, and foot fractures among older women, suggesting that fracture prevention efforts should be a consideration in the treatment of diabetes.
matures women
Study selection: Prospective cohort studies were selected by 2 independent reviewers. The studies had to assess mortality in women (22 cohorts) or men (17 cohorts) aged 50 years or older with hip fracture, carry out a life-table analysis, and display the survival curves of the hip fracture group and age- and sex-matched control groups.
Data synthesis: Time-to-event meta-analyses showed that the relative hazard for all-cause mortality in the first 3 months after hip fracture was 5.75 (95% CI, 4.94 to 6.67) in women and 7.95 (CI, 6.13 to 10.30) in men. Relative hazards decreased substantially over time but did not return to rates seen in age- and sex-matched control groups. Through use of life-table methods, investigators estimated that white women having a hip fracture at age 80 years have excess annual mortality compared with white women of the same age without a fracture of 8%, 11%, 18%, and 22% at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years after injury, respectively. Men with a hip fracture at age 80 years have excess annual mortality of 18%, 22%, 26%, and 20% at 1, 2, 5, and 10 years after injury, respectively.
Conclusion: Older adults have a 5- to 8-fold increased risk for all-cause mortality during the first 3 months after hip fracture. Excess annual mortality persists over time for both women and men, but at any given age, excess annual mortality after hip fracture is higher in men than in women.
Results Myocardial infarction was more commonly reported in the calcium group than in the placebo group (45 events in 31 women v 19 events in 14 women, P=0.01). The composite end point of myocardial infarction, stroke, or sudden death was also more common in the calcium group (101 events in 69 women v 54 events in 42 women, P=0.008). After adjudication myocardial infarction remained more common in the calcium group (24 events in 21 women v 10 events in 10 women, relative risk 2.12, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 4.47). For the composite end point 61 events were verified in 51 women in the calcium group and 36 events in 35 women in the placebo group (relative risk 1.47, 0.97 to 2.23). When unreported events were added from the national database of hospital admissions in New Zealand the relative risk of myocardial infarction was 1.49 (0.86 to 2.57) and that of the composite end point was 1.21 (0.84 to 1.74). The respective rate ratios were 1.67 (95% confidence intervals 0.98 to 2.87) and 1.43 (1.01 to 2.04); event rates: placebo 16.3/1000 person years, calcium 23.3/1000 person years. For stroke (including unreported events) the relative risk was 1.37 (0.83 to 2.28) and the rate ratio was 1.45 (0.88 to 2.49).
Conclusion Calcium supplementation in healthy postmenopausal women is associated with upward trends in cardiovascular event rates. This potentially detrimental effect should be balanced against the likely benefits of calcium on bone.
Kaplan-Meier survival plot showing proportion of healthy postmenopausal women assigned to calcium supplementation or to placebo that had a verified myocardial infarction during the study. Included are events self reported by participants and those from the national database of hospital admissions and review of death certificates (P=0.14 when compared by log rank test)
No differences were found between groups in the number of women who had a verified ST segment elevation myocardial infarction or a verified non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, or in the number of women in whom the diagnosis of myocardial infarction was made by an elevated troponin level in the context of a recent operation or other important medical illness. Also, no differences were found between groups in the number of women with different clinical categories of stroke (partial anterior circulation infarct, total anterior circulation infarct, lacunar infarct, or posterior circulation infarct).19
Conclusions: Both high sedentary time and long mean bout durations were associated in a dose-response manner with increased CVD risk in older women, suggesting that efforts to reduce CVD burden may benefit from addressing either or both component(s) of sedentary behavior.
Objectives: To test the hypothesis that women with prevalent vertebral fractures have greater mortality than those without fractures and to describe causes of death associated with vertebral fractures.
Results: At baseline, 1915 women (20.0%) were diagnosed as having vertebral fractures. Compared with women who did not have a vertebral fracture, women with 1 or more fractures had a 1.23-fold greater age-adjusted mortality rate (95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.37). Mortality rose with greater numbers of vertebral fractures, from 19 per 1000 woman-years in women with no fractures to 44 per 1000 woman-years in those with 5 or more fractures (P for trend,
The growth in the number of people age 60 and older will bring a soaring increase in the amount and cost of primary and specialty care for this group. In 1990, those over the age of 65 comprised 13 percent of the U.S. population; by the year 2030, older adults are expected to account for 22 percent of the population (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1996). Community surveys have estimated the prevalence of problem drinking among older adults to range from 1 percent to 15 percent (Adams et al. 1996; Fleming et al. 1999; Moore et al. 1999). Among older women, the prevalence of alcohol misuse ranged from less than 1 percent to 8 percent in these studies. As the population age 60 and older increases, so too could the rate of alcohol problems in this age group. However, early detection efforts by health care providers can help limit the prevalence of alcohol problems and improve overall health in older adults.
This article examines alcohol use among older women, related risk factors and beneficial effects, screening methods to detect alcohol problems in this population, and treatment and prevention approaches.
The following sections will first examine the prevalence of problem drinking in older women and then review the risks and benefits associated with alcohol use among older women. The article concludes with a discussion of screening and interventions for this population.
Epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated that comorbidity between alcohol use and psychiatric symptoms is common in younger age groups. Less is known about comorbidity between alcohol use and psychiatric illness in later life. A few studies have indicated that a dual diagnosis with alcoholism is an important negative predictor of outcomes among the elderly (Blow 1998; Saunders et al. 1991; Finlayson et al. 1988). Because women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, and older women often experience several life losses that can exacerbate depression and the use of alcohol, it is important for health care providers to be aware of the potential for comorbid depression and alcoholism in this population and to keep potential comorbid factors in mind when conducting health screenings with older women, particularly when they are experiencing some of the difficult personal losses associated with aging.
The debate regarding the benefits and liabilities of alcohol use for older women continues. As new studies include larger numbers of older women, definitive recommendations regarding the relationships between alcohol use and cancers, stroke, cardiac diseases, and risk of psychiatric comorbidities will become more feasible.
These recommendations are consistent with the current evidence weighing the risks and beneficial health effects of drinking (Klatsky et al. 1997; Mukamal and Rimm 2001). To put these recommendations into perspective, the guidelines for adults younger than age 65 are as follows: for women, no more than one standard drink per day; for men, no more than two standard drinks per day (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture 1995).
CSAT (Blow 1998) has recommended that everyone age 60 and older should be screened for alcohol and prescription drug use and abuse as part of regular health care services. People should continue to be screened yearly unless certain physical or mental health symptoms emerge during the year, or unless they are undergoing major life changes or transitions, at which time additional screenings should be conducted. The textbox lists some of the signs and symptoms of alcohol problems seen in older women. Many of these signs can be related to other problems that occur in later life, but it is important to rule alcohol use in or out of any diagnosis.
Brief alcohol interventions can be conducted using guidelines and steps (Barry et al. 2001) adapted from work by Wallace and colleagues (1988), Fleming and colleagues (1997), and Blow and Barry (2000). Brief alcohol intervention protocols are designed for busy clinicians and often use a workbook that the patient can take home at the end of the session. Auxiliary issues included in the brief alcohol intervention for older women vary based on individual patient issues and the time available for the intervention. 041b061a72